What should I do if I’m being harassed at work?

If you’re being harassed at work, the first thing you should do is tell the person who’s harassing you that you want them to stop. You should also report the harassment to a supervisor. You have to make it known to your employer that you’re being harassed and that you want it to stop.

Now, what’s harassment for some people may be simply jokes and innocent conduct for other people, and whether or not the harassment you’re experiencing is severe enough to be illegal harassment depends on the situation.

In order for harassment to be illegal generally, it has to be both subjectively and objectively offensive. Subjectively means that you yourself consider it offensive conduct, and objectively means that an ordinary person would consider that conduct to be objectionable.

FAQs

As soon as you believe you have been denied employment, a promotion, or are the target of harassment due to gender discrimination on the job, consult an attorney before contacting the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

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Have you or someone you know been fired, harassed, discriminated against, or in some other way mistreated by an employer? Are you wondering what to do next? What are your rights? What can your employer do, and what can't it do? More important, what can you do about the situation? You may have already talked with your boss, supervisor, or your HR (human resources) department and maybe you're satisfied with the answers you got. If you're considering hiring a lawyer, click the link below to read Robert A. Klingler Co., L.P.A.'s book How to Choose an Employment Lawyer.